Discovery / Tasting & Pairings / How to Taste Wine
Follow your curiosity · Use your own words
How to Taste Wine
Look, smell, taste and reflect: a relaxed sequence for discovering what is in your glass and what you enjoy about it.
Give one glass your attention.
Choose a place with useful light and few competing smells. A plain white surface helps with appearance. Pour enough to move the wine without filling the bowl. Your usual universal glass is a good starting point; when comparing two wines, matching glasses make the comparison easier.
Look
Notice the colour and how pale or deep it appears. Write one plain description before consulting the colour guide. Lighting and the amount in the glass affect the impression.
Smell
Take a gentle sniff before swirling, then another after a small swirl if you wish. Begin broadly: fruit, flowers, herbs, spice, or something else? A familiar kitchen or garden memory is useful language.
Taste
With a small sip, consider sweetness separately from fruit aroma. Notice mouth-watering freshness, any drying grip, the weight of the wine and how its flavours seem to continue.
Reflect
What did you enjoy? What surprised you? Would you change the temperature, food or occasion next time? Preference is worth recording alongside description.
Describe before you explain.
“It reminds me of pear” is an observation. “It must have fermented in concrete” is an explanation that needs producer information. Keep those two notebook columns separate. You can enjoy a comparison without identifying the grape blind or agreeing with somebody else’s adjectives.
Make a small comparison.
Try one wine before and with a bite of food, or compare two producer descriptions of the same grape. Change one condition where practical. Record your own impression before hearing everyone else’s: a shared conversation can then build on distinct observations.
A few questions worth uncorking.
Do I need to swirl every wine?
No. Start with a still glass; a small swirl is an optional comparison. Keep the glass on the table if that feels easier.
What if I cannot name an aroma?
Use broad words such as fruity, floral, savoury or faint. “I am not sure yet” is a useful note too.
Where shall we wander next?
Behind this introduction
Editorial sources checked 16 October 2026. T2C diagrams, examples and exercises are original editorial learning aids. Individual wines and preferences vary.